The Healing Power of Love
by sued13
Summary: When the Wizarding War is complete everyone is left to pick up the pieces. People handle things in different ways, but when a young, blonde woman comes into the picture, perhaps she can help a man who recently lost his other half. * This story is rated M for the later chapters.
1. Witches' Brew

**A/N: I do not own anything! The world and most of those within it belong to the talented, JK Rowling. Enjoy! :)**

Emma pushed the stray blond hair that had fallen loose from the bun out her face and behind her ears and listen intently as she worked her way around the bar, tending to each drunken male that walked in and cutting off the guys who had had too much. She paid close attention to the amount that each man drank and flagged the men when they are going past their limit. She smiled as she listened to each sob story the men told of their past. She was listening to an older gentleman's story of lost love when she hear the faint ring of the bell signaling someone had entered the pub. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a hooded figured, their face hidden, take a seat nearby. The other patrons peered over at the hooded figure, but said nothing.

"What can I get for you, dear?" Emma asked as she moved her way down the bar to stand near the figure. She caught a long strand of auburn hair hanging out of the cloak.

"Scotch on the rocks," a feminine voice spoke from behind the cloak.

"ID please," she retorted. She didn't know what this woman looked like, so how could she possibly know her age. The young woman handed her a small card proving she was older than eighteen and pulled her clock slightly away from her face to prove she was of age. Emma nodded slightly and returned to her previous work and retrieved the drink for the young woman.

It was a Tuesday night in the start of June and the pub was practically empty aside from the two 'regulars" who came in at least once a day to drink away their sorrows. She walked over to the young girl, "I noticed you only turned eighteen a few weeks ago," she said busying herself with a rag cleaning empty glasses.

"Is that a crime?" they girl retorted bitterly.

"I was just going to wish you a happy birthday," Emma spat back.

The girl hung her head low and gave Emma a sad smile, "I'm sorry. It's been rough for me lately." Emma put down the glass to pick up another one and listened intently as the girl continued, "Let's see, the man I love is gone and may never return, during the war, I lost my brother, my family has alienated me, and my best friend ran away with one of my brothers hoping to leave this life in the past." The girl let out a shaky breath as if she were about to cry.

Emma looked around and leaned in to the girl, "Are you from around here?" she asked putting emphasis on London. She knew Diagon Alley and if this girl knew that too then she would be one of her first customers from the Wizarding World.

The girl's piercing brown eyes burned into Emma's blue ones and the girl nodded. Emma peered down the bar and saw that one of the men had passed out and the other was staring at his drink talking to himself. Emma pulled her wand slightly out of her pocket and the girl looked down at it. The girl smiled and showed hers as well. Emma smiled and checked the large clock on the wall. "Last call," she called to the few patrons. It was 00:55 and they would close in an hour. "Look stay for a minute after close... I want to talk to you." The girl nodded and sat at the bar until Emma was finished her shift.

The girl had taken her hood off and Emma got a good look at the girls long auburn hair. She'd heard of a family like her from her cousin. Emma froze and looked at the girl, "You said you had brothers?" The girl nodded.

"I'm Ginny Weasley, by the way," she said with a smile as she extended her hand over the bar. Emma took it and smiled.

"Emma Longbottom," she smiled as she shook Ginny's hand.

Ginny raised an eyebrow and looked the girl up and down, "Any relation to Neville Longbottom?"

Emma's eyes immediately lit up and a large smile crossed her face, "You know Nev? He's my cousin!"

"I was part of Dumbledore's Army," Ginny said, with a sad smile she immediately tried to hide it.

Emma took a second to think back to what Ginny had mentioned about her life earlier, "So, let me get this straight, Harry's gone and Ron and Hermione ran away together?" Ginny nodded and smiled sadly. The girls made small talk for the next hour or so and were only interrupted when the fireplace flamed and a green embers burned brightly.

Emma stumbled and fell backwards onto her ass. Ginny giggled and made her way to the fireplace, "What was that?" the male voice in the fire asked. Ginny smiled and peered over her shoulder towards the bar area, "Ginny, where the hell are you?" the voice demanded angrily.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "I'm of age to drink, good sir," she spat sarcastically.

George growled lightly, but continued what he needed to say, "Mum has been on my ass all night wondering where you are. So sober up and get home immediately!" Without another word George was gone.

"You're brother's still at home?" Emma asked curiously. She too might still be at home if she hadn't inherited the bar from her father when he passed.

Ginny shook her head, "Fred's death really hit George hard and he hasn't stepped foot in the house or in the store. Both remind him too much of his other half and well..." she paused and wiped the tears that were threatening to break free from her eyes, "I don't know if he'll ever return to either." A rogue tear slid down her cheek and she let it fall. "I still live at home," she said after a long, pregnant pause, "mum worries."

"That's what mums are supposed to do," Emma finally said. Soon after Emma and Ginny parted ways, deciding to meet for lunch in Diagon Alley the next day. Neither of them really had anyone in the area and Emma could tell Ginny needed someone to talk to.

Emma locked up the pub after bidding Ginny farewell. She tehn made her way up the stairs in the back room that led to her flat just above. She threw her things on the small desk by the door and immediately made her way to her room. She collapsed onto the bed and was asleep within minutes.


	2. Save Me

The next day Emma rose early. The pub was still undergoing a few changes since her father's passing, the biggest one being she and her older brother were the only two working there. Her mother took care of some of their financials, but that was pretty much it. As she was sorting through the applications, she heard a loud obnoxious knock at the door.

"We don't open for another hour," she shouted, without looking up. The knocking continued and she walked over to the door to see her cousin standing on the other side. She immediately threw the door open and pulled her cousin in. "Nev, what's going on?" she asked as she helped a limping Neville Longbottom to a booth in the corner.

"I can't do this anymore," he said, pulling a wand out of his pocket. "I need you to do it for me." She peered down at the wand in his hand, "it only takes two words."

She smacked the wand from his hand and shook her head viciously, "You don't mean that." She looked into his eyes and for the first time in her life she saw true sadness shining through. For the first time she truly believed he wanted to die. She sighed heavily and moved to put her hand over his. "You don't know if she's really dead. She could have just run." The sadness in his eyes dimmed a little, but not entirely. "You just don't know. You can't live with the guilt of thinking you were the reason for Susan's death if you're not entirely sure she's dead." Neville turned away from her and viciously wiped away at his eyes.

"Part of me knows you're right, but chances are she is. How could she have survived that fall?" he sighed heavily and allowed his head to fall onto the table. "I lost her."

Anger now pulsed through Emma's veins and found herself speaking before she fully thought it all through, "Suck it up, Neville. Susan may not be dead and you're over here moping around like a child. Grow a pair and go find if she's really gone. If she is then you're allowed to brood all you want, but until then I want to hear no more of this." She stood quickly and walked over to continuing cleaning the bar.

Neville sniffed and cleared his throat before walking over to her, "You're right." He watched for a moment as she picked up a mop and went to work on the floors, "Why don't you use magic for that?" he cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

She smiled slightly, "I'm in muggle London," she said before pushing him playfully.

"Oh yeah. I forgot."

Emma rolled her eyes. There was a moment of silence "So, do you want a job while you look for Susan?" She had contemplated finding a nicer way to ask, but decided blunt was the way to go.

Caught off guard for a moment Neville peered over at his cousin before shrugging. "Sure, why not. I'll need a way to pay for all of this." He smiled and extended his hand.

Instead of shaking it, Emma looked at the time on his watch, "Is that the time? I'm going to be late for lunch!" she handed the mop to her cousin and bolted through the door, "open the bar, will you?" she asked as she shut the door behind her and ran to Diagon Alley.

She finally got to the pub that hid Diagon Alley and made her way through it. She received angry glares from all of the disheveled patrons. She smiled, just to infuriate them, and made her way to Diagon Alley. Ginny waited on the other side for her and Emma smiled and gave the girl a small wave. "Hey Ginny," she said as she made her way to her.

Ginny smiled and waved back. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to make it," Ginny joked. The girls made small talk for a while until Ginny brought up the war. "So how is Neville doing?"

Emma ran a hand through her hair and sighed, "Neville is struggling. Since he feels like he lost Susan he's been a mess. I gave him some work to do at the pub and I'm hoping to help him find the truth about Susan," Emma leaned in and motioned for Ginny to come closer, "I think she's still alive, but I need to know for sure," she whispered. "I have some friends who work for the Ministry so I asked for their help. If she's really gone I think NEville deserves the finalization."

Ginny nodded her agreement, "Won't that hurt him more though? If he gets his hopes up and then has them torn away once more."

"I've taken that into consideration, but he needs to stop worrying and know for sure. He's driving Jack and I insane."

"Jack?"

"Sorry, Jack is my younger brother. He and Neville were inseparable until the war."

A silence formed between and Emma thought of Neville. She didn't want to hurt her cousin, but he needed to know the truth. He deserved it. After everything went south for her a few years ago he was there for her and he was the only one who stood by her no matter what happened. She wanted so badly for him to be happy.

"Emma, Emma," Ginny said shaking the blond from her thoughts. She peered up to see a man with hair as bright as Ginny's. Emma took a moment before realizing who he was.

"Oh, um sorry. Lost in thought."

"Right, well," Ginny paused for a moment, "this is my brother, George."

Emma looked up at him and smiled, "Hi George." As she extended her hand she took a moment to check him out. He was rather tall and well built. He wasn't necessarily strong, but definitely athletic. He had a wonderful and surprisingly broad shoulders.

"Hey Emma." He said shaking her hand. He had a firm handshake, but his hand were slightly calloused due to hard work. "So you own the Witches' Brew?"

"Um yeah. I got it when my father passed and I'm slowly learning to take it on. My brother and cousin help as much as they can."

"Gin said you are related to Neville. How is he?"

"He's alright. He's taking it one day at a time." We continued to make small talk until George excused himself to head back to work. "It was really nice to meet you," George said, holding onto Emma's hand for a bit too long. Or maybe she was just seeing what she wanted to see.

"He likes you." Emma looked up to see Gin smiling mischievously.

Emma blushed slightly and looked over at Gin, "What?"

"He hasn't talked to anyone besides family. Sure, he'll introduce himself, but that is all. He usually just allows me to do the talking and I couldn't even get a word in. You have to come to dinner tomorrow." Ginny was far too excited, so how could Emma say no.

"I'm going to dinner with you, not him," Emma cleared. "With you, my friend," she emphasized.

Ginny laughed, "Of course. That's what we'll tell everyone."

Emma looked over at her and smiled, "That's the truth," she laughed.

"For now." Ginny winked. She quickly stood and looked over at her new friend, "Sorry but I have to leave." She quickly sprawled out her address on a napkin and handed it to her. "I'll see you Sunday. Come over early and I'll give you a tour... or maybe George will," she smirked.


End file.
